The big fights, the best fighters and the colorful characters in the world of boxing.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Opinions and Observations: Khan and Donaire

In the spirit of holiday giving, HBO
and Showtime bestowed holiday gifts upon Nonito Donaire and Amir Khan this
weekend. The networks committed large dollars to their respective headliners,
but their beneficence didn't end there. They even provided woefully overmatched opponents. It's great work if you can get it and
between the two fighters, they didn't lose one round.

For Khan, following his knockout loss
to Danny Garcia earlier this year, his fight against undersized Carlos Molina
was an opportunity to rebuild and retool. Having left Freddie Roach and enlisted
Virgil Hunter, Khan promised a smarter performance in the ring, with more
emphasis on defense.

From the opening moments of the first
round, the gap in hand speed between Khan and Molina was apparent. Khan
unleashed his arsenal of punches while Molina looked to land that same counter
left hook that helped win the fight for Garcia. In fact, Molina connected with
about a half-dozen of them throughout the match, but his shots didn't have
enough power to affect Khan. That essentially was the fight.

Khan did some nice things on Saturday.
He stayed poised and didn't overcommit to knockout punches. His shots were
short and sharp. He got in and out of the pocket with relative ease. His
conditioning looked terrific. In addition, Khan didn't spend elongated stretches
along the ropes, an area of the ring that had troubled him in past fights.

With his shots landing at will, Khan
busted up Molina's face. As the fight wore on, Molina couldn't defend himself
adequately or mount a consistent offense. His corner stopped the fight after
the 10th round, and it was a merciful stoppage.

On a troubling note,
Khan did eat a number of picture-perfect left hooks. Yes, Khan remained unfazed
by the shots, but still, this is a defensive flaw that remains. When Khan
flurries, he doesn't return his hands to a responsible position defensively. He
can be countered by the left hook or the straight right hand over the top.
Molina lacked that strength to change the outcome of the fight, but he followed
the right blueprint. For Khan, this wasn't a step back but I will hold off on
waxing about a metamorphosis in the ring until I see him against a live
opponent.

Ultimately, it's tough for me to get
that excited about Khan's performance. He was in against an undersized guy who
couldn't threaten him. Khan will always win big against an opponent with
limited punching power. Molina lacked the punch to test Khan – and he lost
handily.

On the Khan-Molina undercard,
heavyweight prospect Deontay Wilder knocked out Kelvin Price with an impressive
right hand in the third round. Shockingly, in Wilder's 26 professional fights,
this was only the sixth to make it to the third round. Price did enter the
fight undefeated, but the 37-year-old had faced only marginal opposition (not that Wilder's was any better) and displayed minimal power.

Wilder's right hand is potent. He has
God-given power in that hand. If Wilder had a free shot at any heavyweight in the
world, I'm fairly confident that he could put almost all of them down. However,
that's not how boxing works. It's about setting up shots. Wilder still
telegraphs his right hand and does the bow-and-arrow (he extends his left hand)
when he's ready to throw his right. In addition, he's almost exclusively a
headhunter.

At this point, he has a jab and a
concussive straight right hand. It's a start but he's not ready to headline
under the bright lights just yet. Still, at just 27 and with a limited amateur
background – despite his Olympic medal – he has some more room to grow. 2013
will be a vital year for his development as he faces more experienced
heavyweights who can take shots as well as test his chin in return. Wilder's an
exciting American prospect, and that's not to be minimized, but he's
still very raw.

Deep on the undercard, Shawn Porter
(whose two claims to fame have been aligning with advisor Al Haymon and serving
as a sparring partner for anyone facing Shane Mosley) fought to a split draw
with former lightweight champion Julio Diaz. The scores were 96-94 in both
directions and 95-95.

I actually scored the fight for 98-92
for Porter although I thought almost every round was competitive. To me, there
were a lot of 60/40 rounds where Porter seemed to accomplish a bit more with
his ring generalship, fast combinations and defense. Nevertheless, Diaz put
forth a spirited effort and landed a number of sharp left hooks and straight
right hands. If Diaz had real power at the welterweight division, Porter might
have been in serious trouble.

For Porter, this is a step backwards.
His main problem in the ring is his lack of a real ring identity. It seemed
that round-by-round, minute-by-minute, he couldn't decide whether he wanted to
be a boxer, a mover or a brawler. On paper it was his fight to lose, and lo and
behold, he almost lost it. Similar to the problem that Khan has, once Porter
figures out what kind of fighter he really should be – and for him I would
suggest a boxer/mover – he'll have a lot more success. Right now, he is far
less than the sum of his parts.

*********************************************************

Nonito Donaire capped off the best year
of his professional career by icing Mexican brawler Jorge Arce in the third
round with a picture-perfect left hook. For Donaire, he must have been in
shock. He hadn't faced an opponent who tried to engage him since early 2011.
His previous four foes spent much of their time in survival mode.

Arce started to come forward in the
second frame; he was soon dropped. In the third round, he was flattened again
for his trouble. Later in the third, Donaire pressed the action and scored with
a lead left hook that spun Arce around and sent him down for good.

Donaire was expected to dominate Arce,
and he did. One thing I liked about Donaire's performance was his patience. He
wasn't too caught up in looking – or waiting – for the spectacular. On
Saturday, he displayed his jab, right hand, left hook and left uppercut. The
knockout came from solid punching and poise, not from daredevil risk taking.

Donaire has become excellent at leading
and countering, as well as setting traps. As considerable as these skills are,
earlier in Donaire's career, they were often hindered by his impatience.

His last two outings (against Toshiaki
Nishioka and Arce) suggest that he is finally starting to let the fight come to
him, without resorting to toying with opponents or strangely contorting his
body to score knockouts. I believe that Donaire has matured in the ring. He has
always believed in his gifts, but now he knows that he doesn't need to force
them in order to win impressively.

Already a top-five fighter in the
sport, Donaire possesses the power, boxing skills and athleticism to reach
greatness. What had been lacking in his overall repertoire was discipline and
focus. In 2013 he'll most likely face Abner Mares and/or Guillermo Rigondeaux.
Both fighters will challenge him in vastly disparate ways – Mares, physically
and Rigondeaux, cerebrally. Donaire has all the tools to win these fights, as
long as he doesn't outsmart himself. A disciplined and focused Donaire won't be defeated by anyone with a "featherweight" in front of his name.

*********************************************************

Saturday's HBO broadcast was also
noteworthy for being the final time that Larry Merchant provided color
commentary for the network. From his sharp one-liners, to his
welcomed skepticism to his run-ins with boxers, promoters and other on-air
broadcasters, Merchant provided an invaluable role in the presentation of American
boxing.

In the days since his exit was
announced, Merchant has been showered with well-deserved hosannas from HBO and many of his friends and colleagues, but
these tributes have only scratched the surface of how many Merchant actually touched
within the boxing community. His insight gave fans a window into boxing that
was vital and lacking from other outlets. His doggedness and fearlessness
provided a great example for budding and aspiring journalists.

Merchant believed that a broader
perspective of the sport was essential to enriching the action at hand. To him,
purses, boxing politics and betting odds were necessary in painting a more
complete picture of the boxing scene. The personal stories of the fighters
supplied a poignant backdrop to the action, but he was too consummate a professional to
be held captive to pre-fight narratives. A good yarn was just that, compared to
the action in the ring.

He'll best be remembered as a straight shooter.
If a match was poor, he'd say so. If a boxer appeared on HBO because of a cozy
managerial or promotional relationship, instead of on merit, he believed that fans were entitled to
know how the sausage got made. He didn't pull his punches with boxers,
promoters or his own network.

Merchant was a seeker of truth in a
sport propped up by spectacle, spin and promotion. His musings, asides and
pointed questions provided a corrective to the often party-line positions of
other broadcasters and media members.

However, he did have his quirks and
occasional flaws. I thought that he could be needlessly argumentative with
Hopkins, Tyson and Mayweather, not to mention his occasional petty gripes with fellow broadcasters
George Foreman and Roy Jones. In these instances, he could come off as small or churlish. At times, his default setting was one of
boredom, as if he had made up his mind that a particular fight couldn't
possibly entertain him or the viewing audience. There were nights where he
would take practically whole rounds off, and while in totality this sense of moderation
should be applauded, sometimes he didn't seem fully engaged.

Perhaps I will miss his longtime partnership
with Jim Lampley the most. The two were just a great team, and the best
assemblage of broadcasting talent in the sport. Lampley's natural passion and
enthusiasm blended perfectly with Merchant's world-weary and often reserved
disposition. They understood when to let the fight speak for itself. Sure, they
could be wonderfully amusing when watching a stinker, but the action of the
fight was primary to any jovial asides.

Their natural affinity for each other
led to an easy chemistry on-air, ultimately elevating the broadcast beyond a
mere accounting of the business at hand. The combination made for great
television. In the last few years when Merchant was given fewer shows to
broadcast, it seemed that Lampley had an extra gleam in his eye whenever he
could say, "With me tonight, is Larry Merchant."

The show will go on. Lampley, at his
best, still towers over other American boxing play-by-play announcers, while Merchant may have a more tertiary role at the network in 2013. The International Boxing Hall of Famer leaves
active duty as one of the sport's most respected broadcasters and journalists. He is a true iconoclast.

***********************************************************

English super middleweight George
Groves faced the unretired Glen Johnson on Saturday. Johnson's body was
physically there. He looked similar. He still grunted. But Johnson was present
only in the corporeal sense. His boxing spirit had already left him.

As if on auto-pilot, Johnson pressed
forward, establishing range to throw shots, but he just wouldn't let his hands
go. Groves essentially had target practice, flinging right hands and left hooks
with impunity. Groves moved well, but there were other times where he stood
right in front of Johnson, ready to trade. He kept hitting Johnson waiting for
return fire; Groves often left the pocket out of boredom!

However, there was one key sequence in
the fight. In the seventh round, Groves fell for the rope-a-dope. For about
sixty seconds in the early part of the round, Groves unloaded on Johnson
against the ropes. Johnson took Groves’ best shots and did his best to cover
up. Perhaps a number of refs would have stopped the fight because of Johnson's
lack of activity while in a seemingly perilous position. Suddenly, in the last
minute of the round, Johnson charged forward and landed a few blistering right
hands. Groves, tired from spending himself so thoroughly earlier in the round,
was unprepared for Johnson's counterattack. Groves took the shots well enough,
but he got tagged, and the old lion thoroughly outsmarted him.

That was pretty much the height of the
bout's drama. There was a questionable late knockdown called on Johnson, but it
was essentially immaterial. Groves cruised to a wide decision victory.

I can't say that I was overly inspired by Groves' performance;
it was merely workmanlike. I didn't expect Groves to knock out his iron-chinned
opponent, but I thought that he would have a more of intelligent plan of
attack. To my eyes, there were far too many occasions were Groves backed
himself into the corner, waiting to counter or trade with Johnson. This was the
only opportunity for the slow-footed Johnson to score. In addition, Groves
landed scores of his best shots against Johnson, who barely budged. Again, I
wasn't anticipating that Johnson would get knocked out, but I thought that
Groves’ punches would have more of an effect than they did.

Groves seems like a tweener to me. I
think he is well trained and can box very intelligently when he wants to. His
straight right hand is short and accurate. His left hook hits its mark and he
has good punch placement with the offering. But I don't see any can't-miss
offensive weapons. Although still young (24) and relatively inexperienced for
his division, just 16 professional fights, I don't think that he has the athleticism,
dynamic boxing skills or power to beat the best fighters at super middleweight.

Ultimately, I see him winning as a
mover, but he lacks the top-shelf athleticism to escape past Andre Ward or
Andre Dirrell, or the savvy to outwit Carl Froch. Perhaps Groves could maneuver
himself around the ring to eke out a decision against Arthur Abraham; it’s
certainly a possibility. However, Abraham has shown that he is clearly a step
down from the best in the division. Groves still has time to develop more but I
don't foresee an elite talent.

I think Groves will settle into a B+
fighter, and that's OK. B+ fighters can go very far in the sport. Take a look
at Glen Johnson, an actual Fighter of the Year who was around that range for
most of his career.

**********************************************************

Boxing returned to CBS for the first
time in 15 years on Saturday with bantamweight titlist and action fighter Leo
Santa Cruz taking on Alberto Guevara. With the network only committing to this
one boxing broadcast, it was important to the sport's constituencies that the
fight deliver – and it certainly did.

Guevara started off well,
confounding the pressure fighter with his movement, boxing skills and accuracy.
Santa Cruz, who often throws 100 punches a round, couldn't close the distance
and resorted to throwing lead right hands from the outside. Meanwhile, Guevara
glided around the ring and caught Santa Cruz with a steady diet of jabs and
short combinations, most often with the jab/straight right hand.

It should be noted that Santa Cruz was
coming off of a pretty grueling fight just five weeks earlier against Victor
Zaleta. From the early moments of the match on Saturday, Santa Cruz just didn't
have his characteristic perpetual energy.

However, as the fight progressed, his
power punches started to turn the tide. In the middle rounds, both fighters
landed several of their best shots but the difference in punching power
strongly favored Santa Cruz. In time, his uppercuts, left hooks and straight
right hands forced Guevara into retreat. As the rounds continued,
Guevara's punches seemed obligatory, thrown with the intention of trying to buy
time, survive and keep Santa Cruz at bay. The final scores were 116-112,
118-110 and 119-109, all for Santa Cruz (I had it 117-111).

Guevara did show some boxing skills and
solid ring generalship, but ultimately he didn't have enough steam in his shots
or the willingness to engage enough to win the fight. Santa Cruz was also pretty
good at cutting the ring off; one could only run for so long.

Let's be frank. It wasn't the finest
performance of Santa Cruz's career. Facing a non-compliant opponent who thought
better of standing and trading, Santa Cruz needed several rounds to adapt (I
thought that he lost the first three frames). In addition, his accuracy wasn't that
sharp against a boxer with good head movement and athleticism.

I'm not ready to say that Santa Cruz
was "exposed." Ultimately, Guevara showed how to survive against Santa Cruz, which is a
far different proposition than actually providing a blueprint on how to beat him.

Santa Cruz, having difficulty making
the 118-lb. limit, has spoken about moving up in weight. If he does go to 122,
he'll face a variety of cerebral boxers, stellar athletes and excellent
technicians; thus, Guevara was an excellent opponent for him. While the best at
122 (Donaire, Mares and Rigondeaux) are not runners, they all possess advanced
boxing skills and superior ring generalship. Saturday's fight was vital for
Santa Cruz. He had to track down an athletic boxer and persevere when he wasn't
at his physical best. These lessons will greatly assist him as he meets more
seasoned opponents.

Ultimately, everyone was a winner with
Santa Cruz-Guevara. Santa Cruz put on an entertaining performance and beat a
tricky challenger. Guevara, just 22 and in his first 12-round fight, gave a
credible performance and should be back as solid opponent for top talents in
the bantamweight division. Golden Boy did a double-duty of good matchmaking. They
gave CBS a fan-friendly fight in its first foray back into boxing plus they
provided Santa Cruz with a crucial developmental challenge. Finally, for CBS,
dipping its toe back into boxing after a long hiatus, it was rewarded with a
solid boxing match without any undue controversy. Hopefully Saturday was the
start of something more permanent.